Dealing With Headaches

AHHH!!! Tom Cruise made me forget!!!

Perhaps you are not the only one who has completely forgotton about the submission deadline for May’s Blog Carnival. I know I have. Well, there are a few hours left to sneak that submission in under the wire. Entries are due midnight tonight. The topic is “Migraines and Physical Activity: How do You Remain Active?”

Although it might seem contradictory, light regular exercise can help reduce the frequency and intensity of chronic headaches and migraines. It also helps in getting you regular sleep (lack of sleep can make you more prone to chronic headaches and migraines). I’m not advocating moving when the migraine has it’s teeth into you, but exercising when you can. Although if you know of ways to still be active when the migraine’s teeth is clamping down hard, please share…please.

I’ve got to admit that sometimes when in a migraine attack, I get really bored after a few hours go by and I can’t sleep. When the worst of the pain wears off, and my hands stop shaking, I sometimes go back to work on the computer just because I’m so bored. I don’t really recommend this, but my wallet does.

This month, the carnival is being hosted at Atomic City. It’ll be published on Monday, May 12 (the day after Mother’s Day, hint hint).

Your blog doesn’t have to be exclusively about head pains (such as this one). But your article does need to be on the web so a link can be set for it for all the blogosphere to read. If you think your article would be of general benefit for people with chronic headaches or migraines, give it a try and submit it. There’s not money involved, but it gives your blog incredible publicity. And, personally, I’ve gotten a lot of helpful information from the incredible writers out there in BlogLand.

Well, I’ve got to go and try to beat this deadline before I forget. For more information about where to send your submission, topics for the summer months and if you would like to host a future Headche & Migraine Blog Carnival, go to Somebody Heal Me. If you’d rather skip this month’s carnival (or are reading this after midnight tonight), next month’s topic is “How to Have a Fun, Healthy Vacation — In Spite of Your Migraines”.

Have a pain-free weekend, everybody.

Well, I was especailly prepared for my first doctor appointment in a few years — at nine this morning, while still in bed (hey, I’ve had a hard life), I began a migraine. Sometimes, I’m able to sleep it off. Not this time. I staggered out of the bed, made myself slurp down a Yoplait and popped an Excedrin Migraine. (If you can avoid it, try not to take Excedrin Migraine on an empty stomach. Otherwise, you might not have the Excedrin Migraine in your body long enough to do any good.)

Things had calmed to a dull roar by the time of my appointment at 11:30. I still had to wear sunglasses until the light reduced to a tolerable level. (My senses magnify painfully when I get a migraine. For most people, this is sensitivity to light and sound, but I also can be sensitive to taste. My Mom gets sensitive skin.)

Meeting Dr H (Again)

I used to see Dr H when I was a teenager. Of course, niether Dr. H’s staff nor me thought I was ever going to return to Clifton Heights (ha ha) so my medical records were trashed. Since Dr H sees thousands of patients a month/year/hour/whatever, I was like a brand new patient.

I sat down on the couch thingy with the really big roll of toilet paper over it and got my first good look at Dr. H in 20 years.

And, darn it — he had the indecency to look JUST THE SAME. Me, I’ve got wrinkles, I’m growing hair in strange places, I’ve put on weight — and he looks just the same (except for a couple of streaks of iron grey.) What the heck does Dr. H know that I don’t? Next time, I have to remember to ask him if he’s related to Dick (”Fountain of Youth Face”) Clark. Of course, he probably never spent five years being homeless in another country like I did — but that’s still no excuse.

Anyway, one of the first things he did was realize how uncomfortable I was and sat me in a real chair for adults. We could look at each other eye to eye. That did a lot to help my nerves.

Practical upshot is that I have to fast from 10pm tonight to do massive amounts of bloodwork in the moring. Then we proceed from there. I supposse I should start stuffing my face now to make sure I have enough calories to get through tomorrow morning.

Dr. H also mentioned that he might want me to start a daily abortive medication to prevent migraines instead of just relying on Excedrin Migraine. I gripped the chair arms when he said that. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Money!” I said. (Imitrex, for example, can probably be exchanged for gold nuggets in some cities.)

“You do have a prescription plan with your insurance.”

“Oh — yeah,” I said. I keep forgetting I have insurance now, although the monthly bills are a reminder as sublte as a kick in the groin. After spending so many years uninsured, I just automatically assume if it’s good for me, I can’t afford it.

Have to go now and get in my daily quota of Cheez Its before the 10 pm deadline.

I see Dr. H again in 2 weeks. I wonder if he’ll grow even younger.

I only have one relative that I know of who is left handed. There might be others, but they’ve kept really quiet about it. My Aunt Marjorie had to endure a lot of teasing growing up — and, quite frankly, at over blah-de-blah years of age, she probably still gets her fair share of it. Unfortunately, she has more than her fair share of hardships in life. However, she does not get migraines.

Which somewhat contradicts the recent study between migraines and left-handnessness that recently came out from a group of German scientists. They only polled 100 Europeans and clearly had no contact whatsoever with my Aunt Marjorie.

Although the study ultimately was inconclusive on whether lefties have MORE migraines, but it suggests that being left-handed makes you more prone to migraines. As ususal for any kind of medical study, they have called for more medical studies to be done. I guess this keeps the medical studies industry going. (And can I buy stock in this group that keeps medical studies going on forever?)

About Left Handedness

Lefties are generally male (according to Wikipedia — not according to my family). There are about as many people who thinks left-handedness is a sign of genius, while just as many other people say “Whaddya, NUTS?” Famous left-handers include Sir Paul McCartney, Freddie Mercury and my Aunt Marjorie. Animals can also show signs of being right pawed (hooved, finned, whatever) or left pawed. For example, anyone who has ridden horses a lot will know horses have a tendency to behave better favoring one side than the other.

We could do a very unscientific study here and ask you, Gentle Readers, to answer the following as honestly as you possibly can on a May afternoon:

• Are you left sided, right sided or ambidextorous?
• Do you have migraines?
• Are you related to me?

I’m not sure how the scientific community will handle the results of our little study. Probably by calling for more studies to be done.

It’s not available yet and won’t be for years, but a promising new nasal spray is being developed by ROXRO Pharma (you think manybe a dog named the company?) This intranasal treatment, known as ROX-828, shoots a fine spray of NSAID ketorolac up your nose to be immediately absorbed into your system. It has produced promising results in a European clinical trial.

Why A Nasal Spray?

There are already ketorolac pills available, but they have whopping side effects. This is one of the most powerful NSAIDs legally available and is only advised for short term use. It’s usually given for post-operative pain, for example. It works on reducing hormones in your body that are though to contribute to pain making.

With a nasal spray, it’s hoped that not only will a migraine in progress be stopped, but that there will be less severe side effects. These stests are showing that a nasal spray can administer the medicine as quickly as a needle injection. So far, the studies are showing that the nasal spray works to alleviate migraine pain within two hours of spraying.

ROXRO is also working on a different formulation called ROX-888 which is has just completed its Pahase 3 Clinical trial in the US. The results are being compiled and it’s probably going to be a while to interpet them accurractely. ROXRO hopes to submit a “new drug” application to the FDA later this year.

And then the wait continues.

I could not find out how much this stuff is planning to cost. I expect it’ll be a whopper, even in comparison to preventative migraine medicines like Imitrex.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “She just can’t shut up about how she hates horse racing, can she?” I wouldn’t be doing a “Part 2″ to Friday’s Kentucky Derby Headache if horse racing was banned. So there are now three good reasons to ban horse racing:

• It’s cruel to the horses by encouraging breeding of horses that can’t even support their own weight, let alone that of a rider
• It’s cruel to families of compulsive gamblers
• It makes me go off on rants. Ban horse racng and I’ll shut up

So, in other words, I had a bad headache all weekend. First, I tried to avoid hearing about the Derby, but my Dad atill thinks I’m a horse raving fan. Horse fan, yes — horse racing fan, no. We go out for breakfast every Saturday morning (my parents are divorced). “Who do you like in the Derby?” he asks.

“Dad, I stopped watching horse racing in 1999. I got tired of seeing dead horses.”

“I like Big Brown.”

I rolled my eyes. Oh, hell, what’s the use? “There’s a filly in the Derby named after an N.C. Wyeth painting.” (And I only knew that because my Mom had to inform me of this over breakfast a couple of days ago. I’m starting to think that having breakfast with my either of parents is a cause of headaches.)

Well, that was the kiss of death for that poor filly, now, wasn’t it? I couldn’t get away from the Derby and there it was all over the television national news, the Internet and the Philadelphia Inquirer. I’m sure it’s no surprise by now that a horse died during the race. This is the first time that a horse has died during or immediately after the Kentucky Derby. It’s been the only race major stakes race to not have a casualty until Saturday.

The Pain

The actual headache that happened I’m guessing was due to stress and depression. It lifted very late last night. I handled it badly — basically, numbing myself with junk food, Nyquil and Animal Planet. The pain itself wasn’t so bad, but I felt a crushing weight on my entire body. It was if it suddenly took all the strength I could posess just to walk up the stairs to the bathroom.

I’m trying not to look at anything having to do with race horses, but I do have to work, which requires me going online, which always throws the headlines out at me. I do have clinical depression, and one of the physical symptoms is headaches. However, I’m also blessed with having migraines, which makes me prone to have all kinds of other head pains.

And yes, I know I shouldn’t take things so seriously. Consiously, I don’t. But my subconscious does and rails at the injustice of it all (whatever cause it takes up at the time), which contributes to headaches and not sleeping, which can contribute to more headaches. As U2 sang, “It’s no secret that sometimes a conscious can sometimes be a pest.”

Anyway, how can I do any good for any animal or taking care of my family when I am sick with headaches because of the damn Kentucky Derby?

The Point

If you know somebody who doesn’t understand the pain, depression and downright confusion that can arise when a series of headaches or migraines hit, show them this post. It will give some idea of what you’re going through (although the event that sets you off is most likely not the Kentucky Derby).

Crossing my fingers that I’ll get my heada ches under controll and write a more coherent post tomorrow. God, Goddess and Peter Gabriel bless you for taking the time out of your life for reading this.

I hate horse racing because I love horses. I used to be the nation’s biggest horse racing fan — I could quote stats and bloodlines in my sleep. And then I saw too many horses die needlessly, so I’m now sickened by the whole thing. This is the weekend that twenty years ago I longed for in the way a five year old longs for Christmas. It’s the weekend of the Kentucky Derby, the annual parade of lambs to the slaughter.

My relationship with horse racing was committed, but horse racing cheated on me and I still sting from the betrayal. So the time of the year I used to look so happily upon is now my most dreaded weekend of the year. Perhaps there is a day in yor life which is the anniversary of something you dread to recall –the death of a friend, the wedding day of a disasterous marriage, or Black Friday.

In other words, I have a dreadful headache and it’s all my fault.

Stress And Sinuses

It’s probably no coincidence that I’ve been having such incredibly bad sinus and headache problems this week, as well as a lot of nausea. The pollen level has been incredibly high around the greater Philadelphia area (where I live), buit I have never had trouble with seasonal allergies until the last couple of years. If I follow the pattern of the last couple of years, the allergy symptoms will suddenly decrease sharply after the Triple Crown is over and done with on the first Saturday in June.

I know I should get over it. Hell, I’ve gotten over breaking up with my ex-es better than I’ve been handling my break up with horse racing. But knowing it and doing it are two differnt things.

I’m hoping that by naming my demon (by owning up to being stupid enough to be a horse racing fan for so many years and then getting sick every first week in May ever since), I can look back at what I’ve written, laugh at it and the pain will go away.

After Reading What I’ve Written So Far

Nope. Pain still is with me. I think my best bet is to get as numb as I possibly can this weekend.

Ok, truth be told, I didn’t make the appointment — I chickened out so my Mom made the appointment for me. I have a phobia of doctors that are nearly as bad as my phobia of dentists. If you find you keep putting off making an appointment with a doctor for whatever reason, mention this to someone who cares about you. They may make the appointment for you. My date with destiny is May 8.

What’s Old Is New Again

My Mom made the appointment with my new doctor — who turns out to be the doctor I went to twenty years ago. I remember him being the first person to write a prescription for me ofr a brand new medcine “said to be the bees’ knees” for menstrual cramps. This new wonder drug was called ibuprofen.

(Yes — that’s how old I am, folks.)

Now I’m worried that when I meet my old doctor again that he’s going to look a heck of a lot better than I am. I also wonder if I’ll wind up being the “example case” for every other patient. “My God - eat your vegatables or you’ll wind up like Sherwood!”

I Have Health Insurance Now

The only reason I can complain about my old/new doctor is that I have to shell out $250 per month for health insurance. I’ve had to take on three more clients just to cover the health insurance premiums. I’m working about ten hours a day. I’m beginning to wonder if I was better off among the ranks of America’s 47 million uninsured.

Well, back to work. I have to go write scads of articles about relaxing from stress, hedge clippers and treadmills (not all in the same article, though). I also am still trying to track down one client who seems to have skipped this planet after I delievered my articles. I’m working so hard because it’s good for my health.